Michael Rupp was born January 13, 1980 in Cleveland, Ohio. The 1st round, 9th overall selection of the New York Islanders in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Rupp is a graduate of St. Edward's High School in Ohio and went on to play three years in the OHL before making his professional debut in 2000-01.

After graduating from St. Edwards High School in 1997, Rupp joined the OHL's Windsor Spitfires for the early part of the 1997-98 season before being dealt to the Sarnia Sting. The Cleveland, Ohio native spent three and half seasons with the Sting ending his OHL career in 2000 with 70 goals and 127 points in 185 games.

Unable to reach a contract agreement with the Islanders, Rupp re-entered the draft in 2000 and was taken by the New Jersey Devils with their 7th choice, 76th overall. Looking for a fresh start, Rupp joined the Devils AHL affiliate in Albany for the 2000-01 season and went on to play two full seasons with the Devils farm hand before making his NHL debut in 2002-03. During the 2002-03 season, the former first rounder split his time between Albany and New Jersey, where in Game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Final he scored the game winning goal helping the Devils capture their third Stanley Cup in team history.

In 2003-04, Rupp was playing in his first full season with the Devils before being acquired by the Phoenix Coyotes in the latter stages of the season. Following a lock out year in 2004-05, Rupp was acquired by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the early stages of the 2005-06 season.

Rupp would appear in only 39 games with the Blue Jackets as a broken foot kept him out of 12 games. He missed the final 19 games of the regular season due to an irregular heart beat.

In the summer of 2006 Rupp would return to New Jersey, signing a deal on July 10 as an unrestricted free agent.

After three seasons in New Jersey, where he continued to establish himself as a tough and gritty NHL winger, Rupp signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1, 2009.

In his first year in Pittsburgh, Rupp would set a career high in goals with 13.

On July 1, 2011, Rupp's time with the Penguins would come to an end. He signed as a free agent with the New York Rangers.

Rupp appeared in 60 games for the Rangers during the 2011-12 season, bringing his trademark tough, physical brand of hockey. He scored four times for the club and added 97 penalty minutes.

On February 4, 2013, after appearing in just eight games for the Rangers during the 2012-13 season, Rupp was traded to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Darroll Powe and Nick Palmieri.

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

1996-97

St. Edward's High School

High-OH

20

26

24

50

1997-98

Windsor Spitfires

OHL

38

9

8

17

60

-14

1997-98

Erie Otters

OHL

26

7

3

10

57

+5

7

3

1

4

6

1998-99

Erie Otters

OHL

63

22

25

47

102

-2

5

0

2

2

25

1999-00

Erie Otters

OHL

58

32

21

53

134

+4

13

5

5

10

22

2000-01

Albany River Rats

AHL

71

10

10

20

63

2001-02

Albany River Rats

AHL

78

13

17

30

90

-27

2002-03

New Jersey Devils

NHL

26

5

3

8

21

0

4

1

3

4

0

2002-03

Albany River Rats

AHL

47

8

11

19

74

+1

2003-04

New Jersey Devils

NHL

51

6

5

11

41

-1

2003-04

Phoenix Coyotes

NHL

6

0

1

1

6

-3

2004-05

Danbury Trashers

UHL

14

5

5

10

30

+4

11

3

4

7

38

2005-06

Phoenix Coyotes

NHL

1

0

0

0

0

0

2005-06

Columbus Blue Jackets

NHL

39

4

2

6

58

-3

2005-06

Syracuse Crunch

AHL

3

1

2

3

12

+1

2006-07

New Jersey Devils

NHL

76

6

3

9

92

-10

9

0

1

1

7

2007-08

New Jersey Devils

NHL

64

3

6

9

58

-8

5

0

1

1

2

2008-09

New Jersey Devils

NHL

72

3

6

9

136

-2

7

0

0

0

14

2009-10

Pittsburgh Penguins

NHL

81

13

6

19

120

+5

11

0

0

0

8

2010-11

Pittsburgh Penguins

NHL

81

9

8

17

124

-4

7

1

1

2

4

2011-12

New York Rangers

NHL

60

4

1

5

97

-1

20

0

0

0

36

2012-13

New York Rangers

NHL

8

0

0

0

12

-3

2012-13

Minnesota Wild

NHL

32

1

3

4

67

+1

4

0

0

0

12

2013-14

Minnesota Wild

NHL

13

0

1

1

23

+1

2013-14

Iowa Wild

AHL

5

0

0

0

0

0

NHL Totals

610

54

45

99

855

67

2

6

8

83

Traded to Erie (OHL) by Windsor (OHL) for Jason Ward, January 6, 1998.Traded to Phoenix by New Jersey with New Jersey's 2nd round pick (later traded to Edmonton - Edmonton selected Geoff Paukovich) in 2004 NHL Draft for Jan Hrdina, March 5, 2004. Signed as a free agent by Danbury (UHL), February 10, 2005. Traded to Columbus by Phoenix with Cale Hulse and Jason Chimera for Geoff Sanderson and Tim Jackman, October 8, 2005. Signed as a free agent by New Jersey, July 10, 2006. Signed as a free agent by Pittsburgh, July 1, 2009. Signed as a free agent by NY Rangers, July 1, 2011. Traded to Minnesota by NY Rangers for Darroll Powe and Nick Palmieri, February 4, 2013. Missed majority of 2013-14 due to knee surgery, October 1, 2013 and as a healthy reserve.